The first Alice in Wonderland trailer came months ago, and has been playing in IMAX theaters ever since. A second Alice in Wonderland trailer is bond to arrive this week, considering the big event in IMAX this week. With Avatar trying to revolutionize IMAX 3D, Tim Burton’s own upcoming IMAX 3D film may seem tame by comparison. Still, the anticipation for his new trip through the looking glass is high, and should be higher with his new Alice in Wonderland trailer.
Burton is the latest director to try his hand at the Wonderland story – and try to add a few twists to it. The new trailer makes it clearer that this isn’t Alice’s first very important date in Wonderland. What’s more, the older Alice returns to a land where the Queen of Hearts – played by the giant head of Helena Bonham Carter – has taken over everything. So with help from Johnny Depp’s truly Mad Hatter, the war is on to save Wonderland.
The second Alice in Wonderland trailer is naturally filled with more plot and exposition, as most second trailers are. Renn Brown of the movie blog CHUD notes that Alice herself is mainly “tossed, dropped and surprised” despite being the protagonist. But the selling points are mainly the visuals, Johnny Depp as the Hatter, and the other fantastical Wonderland favorites.
Internet blogs found this new trailer online, with two slightly different trailers from the UK and US. The US teaser will likely play before Avatar this weekend, to remind folks that James Cameron doesn’t have the last word in IMAX 3D. After Avatar takes movie goers to a new world, Tim Burton will still set out to take us through an old one – albeit one with a whole new look.
IMAX 3D has primarily worked for animated films so far. But with Avatar and Alice in Wonderland, two of the best visual directors of our time are set to transport audiences. Cameron’s experiment should easily set the gold standard for the format – yet Burton’s Alice in Wonderland will be the first real challenge to his new throne.
Burton’s skills with visuals and Depp define him as a director. But he will have to please Wonderland fans, skeptics who remember his last mixed remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and audiences spoiled by Avatar. The Alice in Wonderland trailer won’t answer every question, since there’s still four months left until the rest of the film comes out. But it should ramp up expectations to find out, once audiences finish raving or ranting over Avatar.
The full length version of Alice’s second fall through the rabbit hole is out on March 5, 2010.
Sources
Aint It Cool News- “A couple new Alice in Wonderland trailers surface and they look really damn good!”
CHUD- “Alice(Is Around As Stuff Happens) In Wonderland”
